Method and apparatus for feeding paper



April 8, 1941.. J B U -r; 2.2371877 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDINGPAPER F'iled May 5, 1939 5 Shets-Sheet l IN VENT OR.

liq/V55 Z5? FUL/f 7 42 ATTORNEYS April 8, 1941. J. B. FULK 2.237.877

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PAPER Filed May 5, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet2 Fig.7

INVENTOR. Jaw/s5 Z3 FuL/E April 8, 1941. J B, FULK 2,237,877

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PAPER Filed May 5, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet3 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS April 8, 1941.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PAPER Filed May 5, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet4 INVENTQR. Jams 5 7514K ATTORNEYS J. B.YFULK 2.237.877

April 8, 1941. J FULK' 2.237.877

METHOD AND mmmvrus FOR FEEDING PAPER Filed May 5. 1939 5 sheets -sh eeta fOO INVENTOR. J/IM'ES 5. F'U/Jf I Patented Apr. 8, 1941 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PAPER James B. Fulk,Norwalk, M0

Application May 5, 1939, Serial No. 271,984

14 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for feeding continuousstrip material into a rotary press and particularly to the method ofcontrolling the paper during the printing operation so that the printedstrips may be collated and placed in superimposed registration withoutvariation in the length of the printed matter thereon,

In the manufacture of continuous and single set forms for both carboninterleaved and the non-carbon interleaved strip style, each strip ofthe finished set is printed singly on a rotary press.

press, the same length of paper should be turned out with each web,irrespective of the different weights or sizes of the paper, but it hasbeen found that due to differences in tension and various other causes,the paper on the indiViduaI'webS may go through the press fasterorslower than the peripheral speed of the printing member, with theresult that the printed webs will vary in length and therefore will notregister accurately when collated. The difference in length would not beobjectionable for only the first forty ieet,

but the difference is cumulative and therefore increases progressively.

The rewind or rotary presses which are now in use have a clutchmechanism at the rewind end of the machine for pulling the paper fromthe press and rewinding it on a core or spool. The mill roll, orunprinted roll, is supported upon a spool at the ,other end of themachine and various means are employed to tension the paper as it leavesthe mill roll. It is therefore apparent that the speed with which thepaper' travels through the press as it is printed, is governed by theresulting tension exerted on the paper by the clutch mechanism inpulling the paper through the press and by the tensioning deviceadjacent the mill roll in retarding the feeding of paper into the press.To obviate the e of the paper between the printing members at a speedfaster or slower than the peripheral speed of the printing elements,would necessitate a constant tension on the paper, so'as to maintainsynchronism between it and the printing elements. Heretofore, this hasnot been possible, because the paper at the rewind end increases in sizeas the roll on the opposite end of the mill roll decreases, therebyeffecting a change 01' tension upon the paper, as it passes through thepress, A further difliculty presents itself where papers of diiferentweight and thickness are fed through the press, for the reason that aheavier sheet will feed faster than a thinner web and hence the lengthsof the respective printed forms will not lie in registration. To alesser extent the width of the web' also has a bearing upcn the speed atwhich the paper would ordinarily be fed through the press, because avery narrow web' would not obtain the same amount of grip on therollers, as that of a wider web.

An object of my present invention, therefore, is to provide a method andapparatus to control the travel of the paper into the press with respectto the speed of the printing element, and

thereby to efiect accurate registration of the resulting printed forms,irrespective of the weight or size of the paper.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a rotaryprinting machine which embodies one form of apparatus for carrying outthe method of my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a. meteringdrum taken along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view ofthe rewind control, taken substantially along the line 3--3.in Fig 1;Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the metering drum takensubstantially along the line 4-4 in Fig, 2; Fig. 5 is a developedstantlally along the line 5-5 in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is plan view of theinside of the drum, taken suba detail sectional view of the operation ofthe drum taken at the position 6-6 in Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a similar view,taken at the position 1---'! in Fig. 4; Fig.8 is an enlarged fragmentaryview of a modified form of metering drum; Fig. 9 is a similar viewillustrating another form of drum which may be used in connection with'the method of my invention; Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view takenalong the line lllll in Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a preferred form of .meteringdrum; Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line12-42 in Fig. 11; Flg. 13 is a top elevation ofla section or the drumshown in Fig. 11, and Fig. 14 is asimplified showing of a collating machine.

Referring now to Fig. 1, I have shown the usual form of rotary press inwhich I designates the frame, 2 the unprinted mill roll carried on asuitable spindle 3, and 4 the printed rewind roll carried upon thespindle 5 As. the paper W leaves the mill roll it passes around themetering drum 5, the operation of which will be hereinafter described,then through perforating mechanism 1 for making transverse weakeninglines, thence upwardly and around the platen 8 of the printingmechanism, thence forwardly through the punching unit 9 to perforate themarginal edge of the strip and lastly through the numbering unit It,after which the web is rewound upon the roll 3.

The rotary printing mechanism which I have illustrated comprises aplaten t and one or more rotary printing rolls H and 52, which maypreferably be driven by suitable gearing from the same platen. Each ofthe printing rolls is provided with individual inking rollers i3 and ii, if it is desired to print the forms in more than one color. Themetering drum 3 for feeding the paper into the press is carried upon thespindle 55, which is journalled in the frame and is adapted to be drivenby the large external gear it. A pair of idler rolls fl and it areprovided near the base of the drum to guide the incoming and outgoingpaper respectively, in such a manner that the paper is in contactsubstantially with the full circumference of the drum during onerevolution thereof.

The various units of the press are preferably driven by a motor 283,through a suitable speed reduction unit 2!, after which the power istransmitted by a belt 22 to a transverse power shaft 23, journalled inthe frame. A drive shaft 2% extends longitudinally of the frame, one endof which is driven from the power shaft 23 by suitable bevel gears 25.The shaft 2 5 is journalled at intervals throughout its length, at whichpoints provision is made for suitable gearing 2@ to drive the gear Hi onthe drum E5; gearing 2? for the perforating unit i; earing 28 and apower takeoff 28 for driving the platen 3 and the press mechanism andgearing 29 and a power take-off 29' for driving the nmnbering unit iii.A power take-off for the punching unit 2 is not shown, but may beconnected to either of the shafts 28' or 29.

The finished printed strips are withdrawn from the press by the rewindroll 6. This may be accomplished in one of several ways, to regulate thepull on the paper, by either driving the periphery of the rewind rollwith a friction clutch arrangement or by providing a slip clutcharrangement by which the speed of rotation may be decreased as the sizeof the roll increases. One form of clutch arrangement which I have foundsatisfactory for the purposes of my invention comprises a slip clutch3!, the tension of which is manually regulated by a hand lever 32 tocontrol the speed of the rewind roll. The lever 32 is adapted to actuatea collar 33 through a yoke 3 which is slidable axially of the shaft 23to compress the spring 35 and thereby press the slip clutch 3i intofrictional contact with a rotating plate 36, driven by the shaft. Theslip clutch 3! is adapted to drive a sprocket chain 31, the other end ofwhich is operatively connected to the spindle 5 of the rewind roll. Adetachable coupler arrangement 38, may be provided on the spindle 5 fordriving the roll 4, so that the latter may be removed from the press andtransferred to the collator. It is apparent that by operating the handlever, the speed of the rewind roll may be increased or decreased tomaintain a continuous As heretofore described, it has been extremelydifficult to control the relative tension of the paper passing throughthe printing press because of the relative decrease and increase in sizeof the mill roll and rewind rolls, respectively. I have also pointed outthe difficulty which is experienced when papers of diflerent weights andsizes are run through the press. The method and apparatus of my presentinvention obviates the dimculties incident to the tensioning of thepaper and the variations in size thereof, by accurately metering ormeasuring the amount of paper which may pass through the rolls of theprinting press, irrespective of its tension or weight.

A preferred form of apparatus for carrying out the method of myinvention is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, which comprises a largerotatable drum 6, to which the paper is sufliciently clamped, duringsubstantially one revolution of the drum, to avoid any slippage betweenthe surface of the drum and the paper. The drum is driven from the driveshaft 26, as heretofore described, through reduction gearing it and 26,in timed relationship to the speed of the printing rolls. heavier weightare fed by the drum, the effective speed of the paper is proportionatelyincreased, for the reason that the pitch diameter of the drum has beenincreased by one-half of the thickness of the paper. By thereforeconstructing the metering drum 5 as large as possible with respect tothe diameter of the printing rolls ii and l2, 9. small increase in thepitch diameter of the paper on the drum will be so slight that theresulting increase in speed will be negligible. I have found in thisrespect that by providing a drum which will approximately wrap 9 feet ofpaper thereon during one revolution, the difference in pitch diameter isso slight that the error occasioned bythe thickness of the paper willnot accumulate to an objectionable degree on a 40-foot strip, which isthe usual length in which the strips are subsequently collated insuperimposed registration, as by the collator H39 illustrated in Fig.14, and described in Letters Patent No. 2,209,692 to be assigned.Therefore, for practical purposes, it has been found desirable tosynchronize the peripheral speed of the drum with the peripheral speedof the printing rolls in and i2, the resulting slippage on heavierweights of paper not materially affecting the character of the printing,

In one form of metering drum illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 to 6, thepaper is clamped firmly to the drum by a series of fingers so arrangedat intervals on the peripheral margin of the drum. In its normalposition each finger is pulled tightly to the drum, as by a tappetarrangement comprising a slidable stem ti, a tappet head Q2 and acompression spring 33 to exert a yieldable pressure on the stem. Thehead of each tappet is provided with a pair of projecting lugs 4t and 35arranged at right-angle relationship so that the stem may be rotated aquarter of a turn upon contact of a stationary member with either of thelugs. The stationary member may comprise an arcuate cam member 16, whichis positioned on the frame adjacent the idler rollers i1 and I8 and isprovided with an internal camming surface ll for engagement with thetappet heads 42 as they approach the idler rolls. The cam surface M isso arranged that it displaces the finger 40 sufficiently to clear thepaper on the drum, as illustrated at A in Fig. 4. As the drum continuesto rotate, the lug M strikes a downwardly extend- I ing flange $3 on thecam which rotates the finger tension on the strip without tearing thepaper.

at a quarter of a turn to the position B, so that When papers of quentrotation of the drum releases the tappet head from the cam'surface,after which the finger grips the paper as at D for further travel withthe drum. Thus, the finger is moved out of the plane of the paper duringthe clamping and releasing operations.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a modified form of drum I in which the fingers 40are applied and released in a different manner. In place of the cammechanism previously described,. each tappet head 42 engages a fiberroller 50, positioned on v the frame, thereby lifting the finger fromthe paper, as illustrated in broken lines at position A in Fig. 8. Uponfurther rotation, the lug 44 engages a stationary arm thereby rotatingthe finger a quarter of a turn to clear the margin of the paper, asshown at position B. The tappet lsthereafter released as at position Cfor travel past the idler rolls 11' and I8. when the tappet reaches theposition D it is again depressed by a second fiber roller 52, atterwhich the lug 45 engages a second stationary arm 53, thereby rotatingthe finger to its original position, as at E. Thereafter the finger isreleased and grips the paper tightly to the drum, as at F, andcontinuesv a pressure thereon and maintain the roller I9 in contact withthe surface of the drum. J

When the gripping arrangement, which I have previously described,reaches the proximity of the idler rolls II and 18, the follower "I5 isangularly displaced by the cam 16, thereby rotating the arm about itspivot 12, which, in turn, withdraws the roller I8 from contact with themarginal edge otthe paper W, as illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 12.Upon subsequent release of the follower 15, the spring 13 acts to returnthe roller I9 to its original position, to grip the incoming paper uponthe drum. I have found that by slightly grooving the drum as at 8|,below the path of the travel of the roller 19, a better gripping actionis obtained between the paper and the drum, and less slippage is likelyto result.

On presses where the web is always of the same width, or in instanceswhere the web to be fed v same'manner as heretofore described, withreferrotation until the position A is again reached.

i In this way the finger is moved out of the plane of the paper duringthe clamping and operations.

The clamping and releasing of the paper may releasing also beaccomplished by the form of drum shown in Figs. 9 and 10, in which thefingers comprise a series of curved plates 6 I, which are pivotallymounted tothe drum as at 62, and held in contact with the surface of thedrum by the action of a spring 63. Each finger is provided with anoutwardly extending arm 84, having a rotatable follower which is adaptedto engage the surface lit of an arcuate cam 81, positioned on the frameadjacent the idler rolls I! and Ii. Upon reaching the rolls l1 and IIthe follower ii is displaced angularly by the camming surface 66, whichthereby releases the finger II from the margin of the paper and throwsit outwardly to clear the rolls l1 and I8. Ther the follower is releasedby the cam, and e finger 60 again grips the incoming paper upon furtherrotation of the drum.

silent in operation when the press is operating at higher speeds. Thisarrangement comprises a series of pivotal arms ll supported on the drumby means of brackets ll having aplvotal attachmeat 12. The pivotalconnection is provided with a tension spring 13, adapted to pull theouter end of the arm into contact with the edge of the drum. The innerend of the arm is provided with an extending portion 14, having arotatable fol-- lower 15 adapted to engage the surface of an arcuate camIt, positioned on the frame of the printing press adjacent II. The outerend of the arm is also provided with a. pivotal connection 'l 'l adaptedto receive a carriage II for supporting a roller IQ, for lateralmovement with respect to the surface of the drum. The pivotal connection11 is provided with a double-acting tension spring II, the centralportion of which passes over the carriage 18 to exert the idler rollers11 and ence to the single engagement of the strip.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that I have provideda method and apparatus for automatically maintaining uniformity in thelength of webs that are fed into the printing press, regardless of thethickness or width of the paper. As a result, each web may be wound upona roll, independently, and thereafterthe webs may be superimposed on acollating machine without variation in registration.

I claim: v

1. The method of feeding a continuous strip into a rotary rewind press,comprising clamping a length of the strip to a rotatable drum in advance of the passage of the strip through the press, driving'the drum atthe same speed as the speed of travel of the paper through the printingroll and releasing the paper for movement into the press.

2. The method of successively feeding continuous strips of differentweights and sizes of paper into a rotary press where the printed stripsare subsequently placed in registration, comprising clamping thesuccessive strips around a. rotatable drum in advance of the passagethereof; through the press and driving the drum at the same peripheralspeed for each successive strip.

berand means to withdraw the paper from the,

press, a rotatable drum journalled at one end of the press for drivingthe paper independently of the tension otherwise exerted by the press,and means for releasing the paper from the drum for travel to theprinting member.

4. In an apparatus for feeding continuous strips into a rotary printingpress, comprising a rotary printing member, means for supplying paper tothe member and means for withdrawing the paper from the member, arotatable drum out of contact with the printing member and adapted toadvance the paper independently of the tension otherwise exerted by anyof the above mentioned members, and means for drivingthe printingmember, a rotatable drum, means for I clamping the paper to the drumduring substantially one revolution thereof, said drum being disposed inspaced relation to the member, whereby the paper travels oversubstantially the entire drum before reaching the printing member, andmeans for releasing the paper from the drum for subsequent travel to theprinting couple of the press.

6. In a rotary printing press, a rotatable printing member and arotatable drum for advancing the paper to the printing member, a pair ofidler rolls to wrap the paper to the surface of the drum, means forclamping the paper advancing upon the drum, and means for releasing thepaper as the clamping means passes the idler rolls, and a printingcouple arranged and adapted to act on the paper subsequent to itsrelease by the drum.

7. In a rotary printing press, a frame and a rotatable drum mounted inadvance of the press for feeding the paper to the press, a fingerpivotally mounted on the drum to clamp the paper to the surface thereof,yieldable means for holding the finger to the drum and an arm foractuatin the finger, and a cam carried by the frame to engage the armand actuate the finger to thereby release the paper from the drum,during a portion of the travel of the drum, and a printing coupleadapted and arranged to engage the released paper.

8. A rotatable drum for feeding strip material into a press, said drumbeing mounted in advance of the press, and having a cylindrical surfacefor wrapping a length of the strip thereon, and adapted to be driven insynchronism to the press, to thereby meter the paper which may pass thedrum.

9. In a rotary printing press, aframe and a rotatable drum for feedingthe paper to the press, an arm pivotally mounted on the drum and aroller pivotally mounted at one end of the arm for clamping the paper tothe'surface of the drum, yieldable means .for holding the roller incontacting engagement with the paper, and a cam carried by the frame toactuate the arm and thereby withdraw the roller from contact with themarginal edge of the paper.

10. In a rotary printing press, a frame and a rotatable drum for feedingthe paper to the press, an arm pivotally mounted on the drum and aroller pivotally mounted at one end of the arm for clamping the paper tothe surface of the drum, yieldable means for holding the roller incontacting engagement with the paper, and a cam carried by the frame toactuate the arm and thereby withdraw the roller from contact with themarginal edge of the paper, and a groove positioned .on the drum toreceive the roller below the surface of the drum.

11. The method of making multiply printed forms, comprising guiding acontinuous strip to a rotatable drum having a comparatively large gamer?diameter, clamping the strip to the periphery of the drum throughoutsubstantially the entire circumference of the drum, driving the drumcontinuously at a predetermined rate of speed to meter the length of thestrip, releasing the strip from the drum without interrupting therotation of the drum, guiding the metered strip from the drum to arotary printing couple, the rolls of which have a diameter small incomparison to the diameter of the drum, rotating the printlng couple atsubstantially the same peripherial speed as that of the drum, andthereafter superposing two such metered and printed strips one on theother with the printed matter thereon in registration.

12. The method of making multiply printed forms of substantiallycontinuous strips of material at least one of such strips being of amaterial differing from the material of the other strips in character,comprising guiding such strips to respective drums having comparativelylarge diameters rotating such drums continuously and at predeterminedperipherial speeds, clamping the strips about the respective drums forsubstantially the entirev periphery of such drums, releasing the stripswithout interrupting the progress of the drums, passing the releasedstrips between the rolls of respective printing couples, the diametersof all of such printing couple rolls being small in comparison to thediameters of the respective drums, whereby the drums control the lengthof the strips fed to the printing couples irrespective of the feedingaction of such couples, and thereafter superposing the strips one abovethe other with the printed matter on one strip in registration with theprinted matter on the other strip.

13. In a rotary printing press, a frame and a rotatable drum for feedingthe paper into the press, a finger for engaging the paper to clamp it tothe surface of the drum, yieldable means for holding the finger to thedrum and a tappet for actuating the finger, a rotatable disc positionedin the path of travel of the tappet to actuate the same to release thefinger, and a. stationary arm positioned on the frame to engage thetappet and rotate the finger out of contact with the margin of the paperwhen the same is reto engage the tappet and rotate the finger out ofcontact with the margin of the paper, a second cam positioned on theframe to actuate the tappet in its rotated position, and a second armpositioned on the frame to engage the tappet and return the finger, toits original position of contact with the margin of the paper.

JAMES B. FULK..

